John Legend Wants People To Stop 'Armchair-Diagnosing' Kanye West

posted by Peyton Blakemore -

Nov 7, 2018

John Legendmay not always agree with his friend Kanye West's actions or way of thinking, but that doesn't mean he's going to judge him for his beliefs, or the way he expresses them — and the Grammy-award winning singer thinks the public shouldn't either.

The "Love Me Now" singer opened up about his friendship with the "Love It" rapper in the November issue of the Wall Street Journal Magazine. When asked about Ye's political views and actions in recent months, John told the publication: "A lot of people have tried to armchair-diagnose him, but I leave it to him and his doctor to discuss what's going on in his brain."

"Clearly I disagreed with some of the things he was saying, and I was worried that his saying it might empower some of the wrong forces, might be really demoralizing for people who looked up to him and thought of him as a leader," he continued, referencing Kanye's support of Donald Trump. "I understand what Kanye sees in Trump, and I think it's a reaction to his personality and his marketing panache and don't-give-a-**kness. But my point to him was that when you wear that hat, when you appear to be endorsing him, you're endorsing his policies as well, all of his rhetoric and not just the parts you like." Adding, "I think we had to talk about it, because we didn't want people to be deceived into following his line of thought without considering the full ramifications."

Most recently, Kanye announced that he was taking a step back from politics after realizing he was being used for political gain. "My eyes are now wide open and now realize I’ve been used to spread messages I don’t believe in," he wrote on Twitter last month. "I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative !!!"

While Ye made no mention of Trump, he did call out African American conservative Candace Owen, who spearheaded the "Blexit" campaign (which urges black Americans to leave the Democratic party), and previously claimed that Kanye helped create the Blexit logo. "I introduced Candace to the person who made the logo and they didn’t want their name on it so she used mine," Ye explained. "I never wanted any association with Blexit. I have nothing to do with it." (To note, Candace issued a clarifying statement hours before Kanye's tweet sesh, saying her and Kanye have different political views and he did not design the Blexit t-shirts.)

Kanye then went on thank those who have supported his "ACTUAL beliefs" and "vision for a better world."